Virtual Murder Needs Real Sound Design

Virtual Murder Needs Real Sound Design

Virtual Murder Needs Real Sound Design

November 16, 2015Sally House

Team One USA’s Virtual Reality Horror Short features The Hit House’s Sound Design.

Written and directed by Team One USA’s Kevin Shuster the 2015 Team One Focus Goal 360 VR demo short film, “Case #436: The Killing of Emma Sinclair” featured our sound design. An in-house virtual reality experience to showcase what is possible in the rapidly emerging realm of VR, Kevin created a riveting experience just in time for Halloween.

The plot of the hair-raising experience follows:

“There’s a serial killer on the loose in Southern California and we need your help. Using the latest in forensic technologies, you have been recruited for immersion into the most recent victim’s mind minutes before this gruesome murder takes place. Please be aware that the victim, Emma Sinclair, is a bed-ridden eighty-three year old woman. You’ll be as helpless as she was, but hopefully your experience will provide essential information that will lead to the capture of The Peek-a-Boo killer. Good luck!”

Though sound design was done by The Hit House’s Chad Hughes, not everyone at The Hit House was willing to submit to the visually immersive piece, which included elements of a gruesome murder (off-screen). The experience was truly that frightening, as the viewer was virtually “chained” to a bed and at the mercy of a sadistic killer. What helped to highlight the foreboding and shock factor of the film was the auditory input. Muted, the film’s scream factor does not translate in the same fashion.
Despite the highly graphic adult content, the piece allowed us to flex our creativity toward the horror realm in the sound design space. We were excited to visit the beautiful Team One USA creative space, work with an incredibly talented creative team, and now look forward to how our music and sound design can enhance the nascent VR industry.

Click through and experience how creepy virtual reality can be… If you dare!